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WATCH: ‘I sure have missed you, Dad.’ Father, son reunite after being separated due to COVID-19

Nursing home restrictions meant father, son couldn’t see one another.

WATCH: ‘I sure have missed you, Dad.’ Father, son reunite after being separated due to COVID-19

Nursing home restrictions meant father, son couldn’t see one another.

I've been ready for a long time. You have no idea, paul and David father and son growing up. David tells me they had an absolutely incredible relationship. All began to age as all people do. So eventually, both of David's parents will put into the nursing home and unfortunately, David's mom passed away a couple of years ago multiple times a week to visit. He would bring him some of his favorite candy and that interaction that love, that togetherness was stripped from them when Kobe hit hard and these nursing homes locked up, paul was already missing home. Paul was already missing. His wife, paul was already missing David. Now David can't even see them. So they were stuck doing zoom calls and face times, just like the rest of us for years time. Hey, dad, how you doing today? Paul is in his eighties when you're that old, Every second matters. Every single second matters. And they literally spent a year losing time. So it was hard on both of years, a long time. The reason this story kind of came about is because David reached out to us and said, hey, I really want to know what in the world is going on with these nursing homes, because I'm not getting any answers. And he had reached out to the Department of Public Health here. He reached out to Environmental control here and they're all telling him like, look right now, it's locked down. It's gonna be locked down. And he was okay with that. But he wanted to know what we were working towards so that he could see a light at the end of the tunnel and know when he might be able to see his dad again. After the first story we ran, we managed to get some answers from the state, at the state level. In order for nursing homes to open up, there had to be a certain level of vaccination and a certain rate of positivity. So at this particular nursing home, like 98% of the people were fully vaccinated people is fantastic and the county had below a 10% covid positivity rate and there hadn't been any positive covid cases in the facility for 14 days. So David was able to walk through those doors for the first time in months. I'm very excited about it. This is a day that I've been waiting for for quite a while. Is this where I check in? I was actually in the room with his dad before he was and his dad was so excited. He was so ready. The moment David comes down the hall and he turns that corner and sets eyes on his dad for the first time in months. Words can't describe how incredible that was. Hey dad, how you doing? I'm gonna sneak a hug. Mm sure. I missed you. I mean, it was absolutely incredible. I was a little nervous myself because I could feel David's anticipation and I could feel his anxiety about not having this opportunity for so long. It was easy to tell. They were really, really close. I know that he had to miss the personal touch. I mean, it just, it means, I'm sorry. It means a lot to us. It was great what his dad. It's okay to talk over the phone. But when you can actually feel somebody get him a pat on the back, it's a big difference, isn't it? It is stories like David and Paul's reunion or stories like vaccination numbers going up or case counts going down or schools opening or businesses reopening or whatever it may be. We get to cover those now and there was a point in time when it felt like that would never happen. It felt like we would be stuck in this wave of just gloom and doom forever and yet now, here we are. These good stories are coming out of it. People are smiling again that light at the end of the tunnel really is closer than it's ever been. I think everybody has lost something, whether it be normalcy or a certain way of life for a job or unfortunately, a loved one or a family member. I'm really hoping that people who see paul and David story take away from a sense of hope and they walk away feeling something that might not have been feeling to know this is happening all over the state, all over the country right now. This exact same interaction where these people who were in these nursing homes are getting able to see their loved ones, see their family members. It's incredible
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WATCH: ‘I sure have missed you, Dad.’ Father, son reunite after being separated due to COVID-19

Nursing home restrictions meant father, son couldn’t see one another.

A father and son waited over a year to finally be reunited. Because of COVID-19 restrictions in nursing homes, David Parris was unable to see his father, Paul, since March 2020. Nearly a year to the day since their last visit, the pair had an emotional reunion, and reporter Allen Devlin was there to capture the moment.Watch more on this story in the related video above. We are living in unprecedented times with COVID-19 spreading across the nation and world, and the stories about how people are coping, battling, and persevering through the pandemic have become more important than ever. In each episode, “Field Notes” brings you a handful of stories about how coronavirus has impacted real people across the United States, and you can hear more about what it’s like to cover the pandemic from the local news teams that are committed to keeping you informed, no matter what.

A father and son waited over a year to finally be reunited. Because of COVID-19 restrictions in nursing homes, David Parris was unable to see his father, Paul, since March 2020. Nearly a year to the day since their last visit, the pair had an emotional reunion, and reporter Allen Devlin was there to capture the moment.

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Watch more on this story in the related video above.



We are living in unprecedented times with COVID-19 spreading across the nation and world, and the stories about how people are coping, battling, and persevering through the pandemic have become more important than ever.

In each episode, “Field Notes” brings you a handful of stories about how coronavirus has impacted real people across the United States, and you can hear more about what it’s like to cover the pandemic from the local news teams that are committed to keeping you informed, no matter what.